He says he has not been allowed to work at Royal Stoke's walk-in centre since the incident last summer.

And ultimately, he could be struck off the register by the watchdog.

Dr Keith Wolverson who is facing a disciplinary for asking a Muslim woman to remove her veil during her daughter's appointment (Image: Paul Tonge)

The petition started by Peri Morgan, which had 3,674 signatures at 10am today, states: “I would like to get as many people as possible to sign this petition and save this man's reputation.

“I believe he acted in the best interest of the child involved and their was no racist or religious discrimination in his actions. We need to ensure the General Medical Council treat this man fairly and look at all the evidence.

“Our NHS is severely understaffed and we cannot afford to lose doctors due to fabricated accusations of discrimination.”

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The situation arose last year when he asked a mother to lift her niqab, a face covering garment worn by some Muslim women, so he could communicate with her better while trying to diagnose her daughter.

Dr Wolverson says she agreed to the request but half an hour after the consultation her husband made a complaint.

Royal Stoke University Hospital's A&E

He told the Daily Mail: "He sat outside my consultation room and threateningly made eye contact towards me whenever I went out to fetch each patient. He then made a formal complaint and I was prevented from working at the walk-in centre again."

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He added: "I feel a major injustice has taken place. This is why you are waiting so long to see your GP and doctors are leaving in droves. This country will have no doctors left if we continue to treat them in this manner. I’m deeply upset.

"A doctor’s quest to perform the very finest consultation for the safety of the patient has been misinterpreted in a duplicitous manner to suggest there has been an act of racism committed. I absolutely no longer want to be a doctor."

It is thought that only a small proportion of British Muslim women wear a full-face veil

The complaint to the GMC says the woman told the doctor she did not want to remove the veil on religious grounds but he refused to continue the consultation unless she did.

It claims he was ‘rude’ and ‘gave her a dirty look’, leaving her shocked and crying. She said she felt ‘victimised and racially discriminated’ against.

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A spokesman for The Doctors’ Association UK, told StokeonTrentLive: "It is of utmost importance that the religious wishes of our patients are respected. However, evidently there are some circumstances where removal of a niqab or burka is necessary for medical assessment and treatment.

"Regardless of whether this complaint is upheld, the General Medical Council should consider issuing clear guidelines to protect both doctors, and our patients.”

What is a niqab?

A niqab is an item of clothing that covers the face, worn by some Muslim woman as a part of a particular interpretation of hijab (modest dress).

According to the majority of Muslim scholars and Islamic schools of thought, face veiling is not a requirement of Islam.

However, a minority of Muslim scholars assert that women are required to cover their face in public.

Today, the niqab is most often worn in its region of origin including Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. However, even in these countries, the niqab is neither a universal cultural custom nor is it culturally compulsory.

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